Car coupler



Aug. 6, 1963 K. L. DE PENTI ETAL 3,100,050

CAR COUPLER Filed April 26, 1961 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 IN VEN TORS 1963 K. L. DE PENTI ETAL 3,100,050

CAR COUPLER 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed April 26, 1961 E V. I

United States Patent 3,10%,959 CAR CGUPLER Kenneth L. De Penti, Mayr'ield Heights, and Donald Willison, Lynrlhurst, Ohio, assignors to National Castings Company, a corporation of Ghio Filed Apr. 25, 1961, Ser. No. 105,667 4 Claims. (Cl. 213-21) This invention relates to a releasable centering. mechanism for a railroad car coupler that is incorporated into the end sill structure of the car.

Outside of the United States, there is in use today a large amount of railroad rolling stock that is equipped with draw-hook type couplers. As this rolling stock is equipped with automatic coupling devices, there will be a corresponding need for an automatic centering device for the automatic coupler. Much of the rolling stock currently in use is not adapted to employ the conventional type of centering device that is structurally incorporated into the central bufiing system of the car as it is known in the United States. This is due in large measure to the varied designs of the cars currently in use. The center sill structure of many of the cars cannot accommodate, nor in many instances cannot be modified, to use a central buff and draft coupler centering means. Thus, there is a need to provide a coupler centering means that is incorporated into the end sill structure of the car or adjacent thereto.

The centering mechanism herein disclosed is a vast improvement over prior art constructions in that the operator has ready access to all parts of the mechanism to effect rep-air or replacement, and few, if any, modifications or additions need be made to the coupler itself. Many prior art constructions require the coupler head or shank to be modified to gain cooperation between the centering means and the coupler to elfect centering. The modification of the coupler shank has been avoided with this construction.

It is therefore the primary object of this invention to provide an automatic car couple centering device of simple construction that is mounted in or adjacent to the end sill structure of the car body.

It is a specific object of this invention to provide a coupler centering device that is releasably mounted in or near the end sill structure of the car in abutting engagement with the coupler so as to impart a centering force thereto.

It is a more specific object of this invention to provide a coupler centering device comprising a multiplicity of resilient means disposed in or near the end sill structure of the car on opposing sides of the coupler shank, said resilient means working in opposition to each other with the coupler shank disposed ltherebetween, said resilient means being maintained in an operative position by means of movable stop means rotatably mounted adjacent the resilient means and engageable therewith.

These and other objects will be more apparent from the following description and claims in which:

FIG. 1 is a fragmentary plan view of car frame structure, a coupler, and a centering mechanism therefor.

FIG. 2 is a vertical section taken along line 22 of FIG. 1.

FIG. 3 is a detail view of one half of the centering device taken in a vertical transverse plane.

FIG. 4 is an enlarged elevation of a movable stop for the centering mechanism in an operative position.

FIG. 5 is a plan view of the apparatus of FIG. 1 with the coupler angle relative to the car frame.

FIG. 6 is an exploded View of one cushioning unit of the centering mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a detail view of the movable stop of the mechanism in an inoperative position.

Referring to FIG. 1, there is illustrated by cutaway plan view the coupler centering mechanism attached to the end sill structure of the car. An automatic coupler 2 having a shank 4 is shown pivotally connected to the car by means of a connecting pin 6'. Located on both sides of the coupler shank are two units that partly constitute the centering mechanism. These units are exact replicas of each other and are disposed in opposed relation on the sides of the coupler shank. Each unit has a cap member 8 which is adapted for sliding and abutting engagement with the coupler shank. The coupler shank is resiliently supported upon the coupler carrier 10 which can be more clearly seen in FIG. 2.

In FIG. 3, the centering mechanism is shown in greater detail. Cap 8, located adjacent the coupler shank, fits slidably into the end of the housing, or spacing member, 12. The housing, which is shown as being circular in cross section, need not be restricted to the specific construotional features shown in the drawing but may be of any shape so long as it functions in a similar manner with equal facility. The end of the housing 12 receiving the cap 8 is in abutting engagement with striker 14 through lugs 16. These lugs tare circumferentially disposed around the housing and partly define surface 18- by which the housing engages the striker 14 when mounted on the end sill of the car. The cap 8 extends slidably through an opening in the striker 14 along the surface 18. This places the cap 8 or the unit comprising the cap, the housing 12, and the spring 26 in guide relation with the sill structure of the vehicle during movements of the cap or the unit toward or away from the centered position of the coupler.

Cap 8, which is substantially complemental to housing 12, is held in telescoping guiding relation with the housing after assembly by means of bolt 20. The bolt extends from the neck portion 22 of the housing 12 through an opening in abutment surface 24 on the cap where it terminates. Spring 26 is compressibly positioned on bolt intermediate the housing 12 and the cap 8. Any resilient cushion other than a spring may be used with equal effectiveness. Preferably, spring 26 is subjected to a slight initial compression to maintain the cap in a fully projected position so as to preclude excessive wear of the parts.

On the opposite side of the housing from cap 8 is spring 28. This spring is wedged between spring seat 30* on the end sill structure 31 of the car and surface 3-2 within the terminal socket portion of housing 12. Spring or cushion 28 is of much lower capacity than is spring 26.

The housing 12 is maintained in a fixed position relative to the end sill structure of the car by pivotally mounted stop 38 shown in its entirety in FIGS. 4 and 5. Referring to FIG. 4, the movable stop consists of a handle 40 and slotted arm 42 which is preferably integrally formed. Slot 44 in arm 42 is formed and aligned so as to receive neck portion 22 of housing 12 therein as the stop 38 pivots about a pin 46. This pin establishes a horizontal pivotal axis in fixed relation with the car frame 31 for the stop means. Thus, stop 38 is movable between an upper inoperative position, as shown in FIG. 7, in which arm 42 is not in engagement with neck portion 22, and a lower operative position, as shown in FIG. 4, in which neck portion 22 fits into slot 44. In the upper position, the stop 38 is out of the path of the cushioning ucnit, particularly the housing 12 thereof, in movement of the cushioning unit in guided relation with the striker away from the centered coupler position. In the lower position, housing 12 is locked into a fixed position between striker 14 and the movable stop thereby disposing the laterally inward end of the cushioning unit, i.e., the extertior end of the cap 8, in juxtaposition with the coupler at its centered position. This can more clearly be seen in FIG. 3. Thus, in operation when the coupler pivots in an outboard direction causing the shank 4 to engage and move cap 8, spring 26 within the housing is compressed and thereby a centering force is imparted to the coupler shank which will center and support an uncoupled coupler at its central position relative to the width of the associated vehicle comprising the end sill 31. Stop 38 is pivotally mounted on bracket 47 which is riveted or bolted to the end sill structure of the car.

Spring 28, located outwardly from the housing, is inoperative so long as the movable stop 38 is in engagement with the housing. When movable stop 38 is disengaged from the housing, spring 28 keeps housing 12 in abutting engagement with striker 14. Under these same circumstances, when the coupler is angled horizontally so as to engage cap 8, spring 28 will be compressed by the movement of the housing 12, spring 26 and cap 8. It is this difference in capacity between the springs that enables an operator to disengage the housing and manually position the coupler within the striker casting 19 with a minimum of efiort. Spring 28 is able to exert just enough force to position housing 12 and its associated spring 26 and cap against striker 14 it it does not have to return the coupler as well. However, the spring 28 is readily compressible by an operator who wishes to shift the coupler within the striker casting. When an operator moves the coupler shank against a unit, and stop 38 has been disengaged from housing 12, only spring 28 is compressed. If stop 38 were not disengaged from the housing, the operator would be unable to move the coupler shank, for under these circumstances only spring 26 is active within the unit and it exerts a force not readily overcome by manual means.

The exact location and function of bolt 20' can best be seen in'FIG. 3. The bolt extends from a seat within recess 50 in cap 8, through spring 26, and passes through opening 52 in neckportion 22 of housing 12 and terminates on seat 32 in the socket portion 33. The bolt serves not only to limit the extent of outward travel of cap 8 toward the coupler shank, but maintains the cap, spring and housing in assembled relationship. By keeping the cap and housing in assembled relationship, the distance between surface 24 on cap 8 and neck portion 22 is held to a maximum; Thus, between the similar left and right units, the coupler is maintained in a central location within the striker casting to facilitate gathering. It is preferable that opposing caps 8, 8 of the two units have a small clearance (see FIGS. 2 and 3) with the coupler shank so that they do not abuttingly engage the coupler shank at small angles of horizontal displacement.

- In operation, when the coupler is angled to an extent to bring the centering mechanism into play, as is shown in FIG. 5, shank 4 abuttingly engages convexly curved surface 24 on cap 8. As the shank continues to push against the cap, spring 26 is compressed in proportion to the movement of the cap. The centering unit on the opposing side of the coupler shank is inoperative at this time. Cap 8 of the opposing unit is precluded from following the shank by the limitation imposed by bolt 20. Thus a centering force is imparted to the coupler shank by a pushing action exerted by one of the compressed units of the mechanism.

- In assembling the centering mechanism it is preferable to first boltcap 8 and spring 26 to housing 12. With this portion of a unit in assembled relationship, the unit may then be inserted into the end sill structure of the car and into abutting engagement with striker 14. Stop 38 may now be rotated downwardly into engagement with neck portion 22 of the housing. With the housing held firmly in position by stop 38, spring 28 may be inserted between spring seat 30 and surface 32 on housing 12.

What has been disclosed herein is a car coupler centering mechanism that can be mounted in or adjacent to the end sill structure of the car without modifying the coupler in any manner.

The terms and expressions which have been employed are used as terms of description and not of limitation and there is no intention of excluding such equivalents of the invention described or portions thereof as fall within the scope of the claims.

What is claimed is:

. l. A centering mechanism for centering a car coupler relative to an associated railway vehicle, said mechanism comprising two resilient units disposed in opposed relation on opposite sides of said coupler, each of said units comprising a spacing member and two resilient cushions, a cap member and a bolt member mounted on said spacing member, one of said cushions mounted on said bolt member intermediate said spacing member and said cap member, movable stop means mounted adjacent said spacing member and engageable therewith, said cap member engagea-ble with said coupler to maintain said coupler in a predetermined position.

2. A centering mechanism for centering a car coupler relative to an associated railway vehicle, said mechanism comprising two resilient units disposed in opposed relation on opposite sides of said coupler, each of said units comprising a housing and two resilient cushions, said housing being open on opposite ends thereof and adapted to receive said cushions therein, said housing having a narrow neck portion intermediate the ends thereof, a cap memberand a bolt member mounted on said housing, said cap member slidably mounted on said bolt member, one of said resilient cushions mounted on said bolt member intermediate said housing and said cap member, the other of said resilient cushions disposed intermediate said housing and fixed stop means disposed outwardly of each unit, movable stop means mounted adjacent said housing and engageable therewith, said cap member engageable with said coupler to maintain it in a predetermined position.

3. A centering mechanism for centering a car coupler relative to'an associated railway vehicle, said mechanism comprising two cushioning units disposed in opposed relationship, a car coupler disposed intermediate said units, each of said units comprising two spring members and a spacing member disposed therebetween, said spacing member being substantially cylindrical in shape, a narrow neck portion disposed intermediate the ends of said spacing member, movable stop means mounted adjacent said spacing member and engageable therewith, bolt means extending through said neck portion coaxial with said spacing member, a cap member slidably mounted on the end of said bolt means, one of said spring members mounted on said bolt means intermediate said cap member and said spacing member, the other of said spring members disposed intermediate fixed stop means and said spacing member, said cap member adapted for sliding and abut-ting engagement with said coupler.

4. A centering mechanism for resiliently supporting a car coupler at a central position relative to the width of an associated railway vehicle, the mechanism comprising two cushioning units disposed in opposing relationship on opposite sides of the coupler, guide means supporting the units in movements thereof independently of each other toward and away troin said central position of the coupler, and stop means for supporting each unit in juxtaposition with the coupler at said central position, said stop means being movable independently of the ad- 6 jacent unit to a position out of the path of movement 778,514 Tesseyman Dec. 27, 1904 of the unit relative to said guide means. 1,439,733 George Dec. 26, 1922 References Cited in the file of this patent Evinoughby fi 'l 3 1 egan u y UNITED STATES PATENTS 5 2,208,338 Mun-r0 et a1. Jul 16, 1940 454,754 McKeen June 23, 1891 2,336,948 Metzger Dec. 14, 1943 749,346 Washburn Jan. 12, 1904 

1. A CENTERING MECHANISM FOR CENTERING A CAR COUPLER RELATIVE TO AN ASSOCIATED RAILWAY VEHICLE, SAID MECHANISM COMPRISING TWO RESILIENT UNITS DISPOSED IN OPPOSED RELATION ON OPPOSITE SIDES OF SAID COUPLER, EACH OF SAID UNITS COMPRISING A SPACING MEMBER AND TWO RESILIENT CUSHIONS, A CAP MEMBER AND A BOLT MEMBER MOUNTED ON SAID SPACING MEMBER, ONE OF SAID CUSHIONS MOUNTED ON SAID BOLT MEMBER INTERMEDIATE SAID SPACING MEMBER AND SAID CAP 